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Rhodes + Mann |
This Sweet Sickness curated by John Peter Nilsson Featuring
works by: Roger Andersson, Nathalie Djurberg, Jens Fänge, Lagombra
[Anders Jakobsen] December
9th - January 30th Rhodes + Mann are delighted to present a show of new work from Sweden curated by John Peter Nilsson, recently appointed curator at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm. "This
Sweet Sickness" is a group show with 7 Swedish artists (including
one furniture designer) that presents the other side of today's welfare
state. All artists are dealing with issues that in the first place seem
to be Roger Andersson's
drawings and prints refer to harmless decorative styles but filled with
fatal content; Nathalie Djurberg's videos sardonically expose the underlying
themes of sex and violence in story-telling for The exhibition wants to investigate the paradox between how a modern social welfare policy has created a secure, democratic cultural climate at the same time as resulting in an artistic desire to transgress accepted norms. All seven artists have had considerable impact on the Swedish art Scene over the last two years, but have not previously exhibited together. They also differ in age and artistic background, but what brings them together is their common interest in creating alternative micro worlds that can both be seen as a refuge from existing society whilst holding a mirror to it. The title derives from a novel by Patricia Highsmith from 1961 in which a man can't let his ex-girlfriend go. He purchases a house and furnishes it just as he knows she would like, then lies abed while masturbating with the thought that "His house had the virtue of never being lonely. He felt Annabelle's presence in every room." The novel has nothing specific to do with the exhibition. It is more the general idea about having a dream or vision - and the perversions when these dreams or visions never happen as one might have wished. It is a state of mind that might also be a metaphor for the state of many societies today. A state of mind that artists both reflect and try to deny. John Peter Nilsson, Stockholm 2004 -- Rhodes +
Mann t: 0207 729
4372
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